Entering the Vajra World (Online)

This is the ONLINE component of the retreat. If you’d like to register for the RESIDENTIAL component, please click here

This retreat enters practitioners into the sacred world of the Vajrayana – a world replete with the colors, textures, and shifting energies of the awakened state. Together we will practice the Vajrayana practices, engage in Tantric ritual, and explore the terma teachings given by Padmasambhava to his consort Yeshe Tsogyal, as these are expressed in the work, Treasures From Juniper Ridge. Among the topics we will investigate from that text are discussions of the ‘intermediate states’ of living, dying, and death as these are understood within the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition. Together, we will also embark on a journey to understand the difference between distorted view, created through our misperception of phenomena, and pure view, the experience of the unification of primordial purity and spontaneous presence – the heart of awareness itself.

The retreat will also review and renew the main practices and orientations of the Vajrayana path – a path of expedient skillful means deeply useful and necessary to us in this day and age, when so many of the elements of this life that we have relied upon are being stripped away and radically altered. How can we learn to live well with ourselves and for others in this tumultuous time? Vajrayana practices, prayers, rituals, transmissions, and mindful foci were formulated to respond to exactly this time and place. In particular, we will have an opportunity to recognize the constantly changing and ephemeral nature of this idea we call a self. By training to relax and remain aware through all our physical, emotional, and spiritual states, we fortify our ability to find freedom in the realities of change and dissolution. We discover that at the heart of being human lies our natural condition – naked, aware, and fully responsive to life as it is.

To help us to explore these practices and teachings more deeply, this retreat will include Dharma talks, practice sessions, breakout groups, ritual practices, and close reading sessions of the powerful Vajrayana text, Treasures from Juniper Ridge. Practitioners should plan to purchase this text before the retreat.

This retreat is open to NDF Vajrayana practitioners enrolled in the 2024 program.

Typical Retreat Schedule

(All times are Eastern time zone)

First Day — Opening session begins around 7:00 pm. (see Residential info for check-in times)

Full-Day Schedule — Morning meditation 7:00 am; Breakfast break 8:30-10:00 am; Lunch break 12:00-2:00 pm; Dinner break 5:30-7:00 pm.

Last Day — The closing session typically ends by 12:00 pm.

These times are just for reference. An expanded schedule will be provided in pre-retreat information emailed during the week prior to the event.

Zoom Link

The Zoom link will be sent several days before the retreat to all those registered by then. If you register after that date, you’ll receive the link with your confirmation email shortly after submitting your registration. If you don’t see an email from Natural Dharma Registrar or Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, it may have mistakenly gone to your spam folder or to Promotions or Updates in Gmail.

Important: Please put this email address in your Contact or Safe-Send list to make sure you receive our emails:

• register@naturaldharma.org

Program Cost

It is Natural Dharma Fellowship’s aspiration that no one be turned away from our teachings and retreats because they are unable to pay the full price. In order make our offerings affordable for all who wish to attend, we offer a three-level fee structure:

• May All Beings Benefit! – supporting access for all and assisting with the care and maintenance of Wonderwell Mountain Refuge
• A Middle Way – covering the base cost
• Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting

Our pricing options are based primarily on the length and type of an event and are intended to give you an idea of the costs involved. The amounts listed are suggestions. You may write in any amount that fits your financial situation. Any amount offered above the Middle Way level will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing.

Access to Recordings

NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are accessed in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.

Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.

Wonderwell Mountain Refuge Full Calendar